Why live? | Writer Questions #7

My protagonist is a doctor who euthanizes the terminally ill and suicidal - anyone who asks for his help to come to a quick and painless end. Now I'm at a scene where he and another character are arguing their philosophies, with my intent of digging into the nuances of each position: life vs death.

However, I'm so far stuck in my MC's head that I'm drawing a blank on his opposition. His argument: "Everyone suffered and died. He wondered why anyone lived these days." So what would justify a miserable existence suffering indefinitely to the mere possibility that life gets better? (Also note that this is a low-tech fantasy world, where there aren't psychologists or psychiatric drugs. So no one's going to get any professional help.)

So can you answer him?: If someone wants to die, why don't you let them? Why shouldn't you help them come to a quick, painless, and humane end if their life isn't worth living anymore? If they're suffering beyond belief? Aren't you causing harm by prolonging their torture?

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Dear Writer,

I'm not able (SEE: "can of worms") to argue the merits of one perspective over another. I'd prefer to help you consider the following in addressing the matter:

First, I caution you against soapboxes. If your goal is to write a good story, what you don't want is an ethical or philosophical treatise disguised as fiction. (See John Truby's insights on "theme" in The Anatomy of Story.) Rather, present fully-fleshed characters with honest disagreements. Allow the tension presented by ethical quandaries to highlight natural questions, answers, and ambivalence. This seems to be your perspective by how you've formed your question, but it needs saying in case I'm off on that.

Second, understand the fundamentals of what these ideas about suicide and euthanasia say about worldview, as this will ward off triteness in your text. Every person has a worldview—examined or not—as does every character. Worldviews address four questions about what people believe and why:

• Origin. Beliefs about where we come from.
• Meaning. Beliefs about what life means individually and corporately.
• Morality. Beliefs about how we should think and behave and why.
• Destiny. Beliefs about where we are going.

Consider how the broader frameworks your characters ascribe to cause them to answer these questions—and why. Boiling down the issue to "life vs. death," to my eyes, is insufficient for deeply addressing these salient questions; I assume you're being brief given our format here. Only addressing that character A thinks X and character B thinks Y without showing why would constitute missed opportunities for exploring characterization and theme.

I'd encourage you to review your penultimate paragraph through the lens of the four points listed above. Make character sheets for the two characters and list what they think about origin, meaning, morality, and destiny and why. Pay special attention to the logical connections between the questions' answers.

Best wishes,

DR-M